A Very Corabelle Christmas
by EllieNoble
Summary: A series of one-shots, based on a 25-day OTP Christmas challenge from Tumblr (starting from Day 2 because of things and reasons). Enjoy the shenanigans of Rocinante and Bellemere as they trim a tree, make hot chocolate, wait up for Santa, and do loads of other fluffy things.
1. Day 2: Finding a Tree

**A/N: this is day 2 of an OTP Christmas Challenge I'm taking on Tumblr. I got sick and couldn't find the energy to complete day 1, but whatever. Enjoy the fluff!**

"How about this one?"

"Roci, that monstrosity is nearly as tall as you are. There is no way I'm hauling that thing all the way back home." Bellemere walked the breadth of the gigantic blue spruce, craning her neck to see the top. "Besides, it's got a big dead patch in the back." A simple touch with her gloved hand sent myriads of brown needles raining onto the snow. "Not acceptable."

Eyebrows raised, Roci poked his head around the tree to frown at her. "You're awfully particular." he muttered.

"It's a Christmas tree, Roci. One can't be hasty about these things. It has to smell right, have firm, green needles, and–" she looked at him pointedly–"fit under the roof."

He pursed his lips, gesturing with one finger to another, smaller tree–a conifer. "Maybe that one?"

"It's crooked."

"No, it's not."

"Yes it is, just look at it. It's a banana with bristles. If we chop it down, we'd have to cut it at a weird angle to get it to stand up straight."

His sigh sent white vapor drifting into the sky. "Is there anything else I should know, Christmas Tree Connoisseur?"

Bellemere grinned. "C'mon, the search is half the fun. If we found the perfect tree straight away, then it wouldn't be worth the half-hour hike." She scanned the horizon. "Let's try the blue spruce there, about six meters to the right."

They slogged through the snow, the crunching of their boots and hissing of breaths the only sound in the still, crisp air. A double-handled saw dangled over Roci's back; Bellemere's shotgun was strapped around her torso. All of a sudden, Roci's legs flew out from under him, and he plummeted face-first into the powder. As he floundered around, desperately trying to regain his footing, Bellemere couldn't help but let out a loud cackle.

"Okay, Frosty, up you go." She reached for his gloved and and pulled him upright. Spluttering and shaking snow out of his hair, Roci shivered.

"I can't feel my face."

Bellemere pouted comically and batted her eyelashes. "Aw. Do you want me to kiss it better?" She leaned in and rubbed her shoulder against his, making smoochy noises with her lips.

 _Whump._ Roci was the only person she knew who could literally fall over with embarrassment. Hands on hips, she gave a mock sigh of exasperation.

"Roci, this is no time to be playing in the snow. We have a job to do."

—

Upon reaching the desired specimen, Bellemere proceeded to do her usual inspection. Shoving her hand into the needles, she shook the tree gently, inspecting the amount of needles that fell out. Then, she felt around its base to see if it had a proper trunk length; finally, the crown had to be long and narrow enough to stick a star on top.

At last, she straightened up, nodding slowly with hands on hips. "I think this might be the one."

"Sounds good." Rocinante pulled the double-handled saw from its slipcase.

"I'll take the right side." Bellemere offered.

After a few minutes of fruitless tugging and pulling, both had beads of sweat on their foreheads and were panting heavily. The metal teeth refused to bite into the frozen wood despite their best efforts.

"This is ridiculous!" Dropping the saw handle and massaging her aching fingers, Bellemere stood up. "Move away, Roci."

"What are you doing–"

In one smooth motion, she'd unslung her shotgun with one hand and aimed it at the base of the tree.

Three shots lit up the forest and shattered the silence. Cursing in surprise, Roci flung himself backwards into the snow, shielding his face with both arms. Wood splinters scattered like bits of broken bone; smoke furled from the gaping hole where a uniform trunk used to be.

With an agonized creak, the spruce tilted awkwardly to the left and then paused, as though it were holding its breath.

"Timber." Bellemere breathed. "Quick, catch it, Roci, before the branches get broken!"

Just as it snapped at the base, Roci let the tree fall into his arms, wrinkling his nose as the needles pricked his nose. Laying it gently onto the ground, his fingers brushed the fractured stump with an air of slight shock.

"You don't think that was the least bit…excessive?" He asked, quirking his lips into an amused smile.

With a huff, Bellemere replaced her shotgun across her back. "We would have been here all night if we'd done it your way. Where's the saw? Let's just trim the splintery parts and get it home."


	2. Day 3: Decorating

Wincing, Roci stuck his index finger into his mouth after pricking it with the needle for the twelfth time. He held up the string of popcorn he'd been threading for the past several minutes, measured it, and sighed; it was still only a few inches long, and he needed several feet before it was long enough to wrap all the way around the tree.

He rubbed the injured finger briefly on his pant leg, picked up another kernel from the bowl beside him, and became absorbed in pushing the point of the needle through the white fluff.

Wham–Bellemere blew in through the door in a gust of snow and frigid air. Startled, Roci jerked in his seat; the needle slipped from his grasp and jabbed his finger, again.

"I got the cranberries," she said brightly, placing a crumpled, slightly moist paper bag on the floor next to him. "Also, look at this–"

Her pockets bulged with pinecones. Handful by handful, she drew them out, stacking them in a neat pile. "We can tie loops around the tops. They'll make lovely ornaments." Shrugging off her coat, she grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl.

"Hey, you're not supposed to eat that!" Roci protested. Bellemere laughed through a mouthful of white kernels; she grabbed a few more from the bowl and tossed them at him.

"Just try and stop me." she smirked. Roci carefully set aside his popcorn chain. Then, he leapt up and proceeded to tickle her; she squealed and squirmed and giggled uncontrollably.

"Okay, I give!" she gasped between laughs. He let go and stood back, grinning.

"You know," Bellemere told him, "it's really not a fair fight. You're not ticklish at all."

He shrugged, still smiling, and began working on his popcorn chain once more. Picking up the bag of cranberries, Bellemere seated herself next to him.

"Can I use some of your thread? Thanks." Her fingers moved smoothly, deftly; in minutes, her chain of cranberries almost a foot long. Meanwhile, he added a few more inches of popcorn to his, but not without stabbing his finger several more times. Eventually, he got up to bandage the injured extremity, and returned to his task with a thick, clumsy bandage on his fingertip.

"You need any help with that?" Bellemere inquired, tilting her head to the side. Her cranberry chain lay coiled neatly on her lap, glistening.

"Sure." He handed her the opposite end of his thread; she tied on a needle and began to slip popcorn kernels down the sharp tip and onto the chain. Working together, the two of them finished quickly.

Then, they draped the chains of red and white gracefully around the tree, alternating and crossing the colors–this got them tangled more than once, and Roci nearly knocked the tree over, but in the end, their efforts were successful. Next came the pinecones; with loops of thread tied firmly around the tops, they dangled in-between the coils of cranberries and popcorn.

"I think it's beautiful." Bellemere declared. And it was–even without tinsel or glass baubles. The homely efforts of their own two hands was more than enough.


End file.
